Dykes now aiming high with the heart of a Lion

LIVINGSTON striker Lyndon Dykes insists they should be setting their sights on a top-six finish this season. Manager Gary Holt is sticking to the mantra that top-flight survival is the No 1 aim. But the team racked up a seventh successive home win and a fifth win from their last six league outings with midweek success over St Mirren to cement their place in fifth — and move to within four points of Motherwell in fourth. And Dykes, who netted his 12th goal of the campaign in the 2-1 win over the Buddies, feels they have to keep setting their sights higher. ‘The boys work hard, we come in every day, put our heads down, do our jobs, do what we have to do and when teams come to play against us we make it tough,’ he said. ‘We’re there for a battle and we’re there to play good football when we can, and we’re good at it. ‘We’re on a good run, especially at home, and we’ve just got to keep working hard. It’s starting to get tight round about where we are in the league and we’ve got an aim now. Personally, I think we should be pushing for top six.’

The midweek win brushed away the disappointment of back-to-back losses against Ross County in the league and Inverness in the Scottish Cup. They should not have come as a surprise, however, as the recent 4-2 win at Hamilton was Livingston’s first success on the road since August. With a trip to Ibrox tomorrow, Dykes admits they have to improve their away record. ‘I’ve not looked at the difference between the points at home and away,’ he said. ‘But if you want to be a consistent team in the top six you need to have good away form, as well as at home.’